Somewhere Between Destiny
by darksidesparkles
Summary: Joel Skywalker, adopted son of the Skywalkers has a secret origin that even he knew not of. Please Read AND review!
1. Prolouge

Somewhere Between Destiny

The sidewalk was starting to blossom dark spots, and soon the permacrete was an entire shade darker as the rain began to pour. It formed little streams and mighty rivers, that dropped like wild waterfalls over the looming, shining apartment complexes, mansions, offices and dirty slums alike on the city-planet of Courascant. The rain was impartial to whom it gave the precious water.

The citizens of the planet were far to busy to think of how they relied on such a thing as rain, even on such a controlled planet as Courascant. But, there was one who watched the rain. He was confined to a bed of linen and the starch blankness of a hospital room.

He could have been mistaken for being middle-aged, but the lines of his face were mixed from sorrow, sickness, and injury. His ginger hair was disheveled on one side, and large amounts of bacta patches had been used to cover his body. A broken nose (which was already larger and hooked in the first place) and a healing black eye were evidences of either a terrible accident or a fight to tell the grandchildren of.

In one hand, he held a small but thick disk, a holo-recorder. He shifted a button with his thumb, and instantly the appearance of middle age left his face, for now he wore a smile upon it. On the holorecorder was a blue hologram of a teenage boy with a large nose, an exaggerated widows peak combined with bright red hair, and brown freckles against pale skin. Perhaps the thickness of the recorded boy could best be described as that of rivaling a stick, perhaps, even a sapling tree. A sick one, and the thinness was exaggerated by his large Jedi robes that fit him like old Bantha skin.

_" My name is Joel Skywalker, and since Jaina and Jacen are so unbearable and likely to exaggerate things, and Ben' was in mothers womb at the time, I have decided it would be best to record of the actual events of what happened concerning my origins becoming public, and the dangers we are now in and also "_

There was silence for a moment. The older Joel's face became sober. This was the source of all of his current. His younger self was now crying.

_" It's me they want...and now... they have **her**." _His brow furrowed, and he clenched his gloved fists_." I can't let that happen. I'm going to leave as soon as I finish this, so I will have to make it quick. My name may be Skywalker, but, I am adopted. And when Mother and Father found me, they tried to get a lot of people to take me. unfortunately, once people found out my genetic origins, they rejected me. You see, I..."_

There was another pause. Even on a holo-recording, it had been hard to tell the well-kept secret, one that had even been kept from himself for so many years. The older Joel drew in a sharp intake of breath along with the boy in the recording, as if helping his past self.

" _I'm a clone of the Emperor Palpatine_. "


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own star wars, never have, never will. this is just for fun.

This is AU of the EU.

Chapter One: Beginnings

"_ I suppose the very best place to start is the beginning..."_

The rocky landscape of Ziost was full of the dark side. Even the once great Sith temple, now a pile of ash and rubble from the great Sith Empire and New Republic War, hummed with dark energy. It had been the final stand of the Sith. Ten years after defeating the resurrected Emperor, the Jedi had helped destroy another Sith threat.

Grand Jedi Master Skywalker and a legion of troops were searching for any survivors. "_Survivors to slaughter." _Luke thought with a grimace. There wasn't much of a chance for any Sith to avoid execution or face a blaster bolt to the head from a vengeful trooper. Only one Sith had renounced the dark side and joined with the Jedi in the entire five year campaign. Mara said he was naive to expect anything more than that.

" Sir, we've found something!"

Three troopers were clearing the ashes off of a large and black egg-shaped pod. Luke inhaled sharply as the sense of life flooded him. There was someone, or something, alive in there. And whatever it was, it was strong with the Force.

The Jedi master motioned for the troops to stand clear. He knelt down placed a hand on the outer shell. He felt a small hand against his own through the child was using the Force to touch him though the metal!

" There is a child in here!" he exclaimed breathlessly.

" A sith-spawned kid, no doubt. That's some bad blood in that little body." One of the older troopers growled. Luke frowned and turned to him, still kneeling.

" This is an innocent child, not a Sith Lord." He said firmly. He turned his attention back to the pod and put his hand to the metal again.

_"Little one, can you hear me?" _Luke easily penetrated the child's young mind._  
><em>

_Who you?_ The child was old enough to form sentences in his mind, at least. He was not a newborn.

_I'm Luke. Are you all right?_

_I scared! It's so Dark.  
><em>

Luke had a feeling that the "dark" had not been referring to the absence of visible light.

_You not...Dark. You like Soka. _

_Who is Soka  
><em>

_She put me here. She said not open until another like her came._

_Like her?_

_Someone no Dark._

With that, the pod began to glow, and opened in three sections. Inside was a baby of about seven months, wrapped in black robes. His large crystal-blue eyes met with Skywalker's. The baby smiled at Luke, but at the sight of the troopers grimaced and began to cry.

Luke bent down. He picked up the bundled child and held him against his chest. His crying ceased.

Just as the child fell asleep, a life-size holograph of an older Togruta appeared from the pod.

'" Greetings, Luke Skywalker. I had a vision it would be you would find this child. I must speak quickly, they will find me soon. My name is Ahsoka Tano, I was...am... a Jedi. I have protected this child for as long as I could, and made this cocoon to protect and nourish him until one such as you could come. The Sith had a plan to arise the most powerful Sith Lord's in Galactic history. This child is the clone of Darth Sidious, the former Emperor."

Angry murmurs traveled through the troops. Luke's eyes widened. He looked down at the baby. How could this child be a clone of something as vile as Sidious?

" Please watch over him. Give him Love. There is great trial in his future, a great choice, you must help him."

The holograph ended just as the baby's eyes fluttered open. He smiled and cooed at Skywalker. Luke turned to the Commander, a Mon Cal.

" Finish the search, commander."

He nodded and began sending troops throughout the area. Luke could feel the hot anger coming from many of the troops. The war may have helped push back anti-jedi sentiments, but now any innocent with a relation to a Sith would be persecuted.

He went into the shuttle and contacted Mara. Her lovely form, tinted blue, appeared on the holo-pad.

" Mara." He said with a smile. She smiled back and eyed the baby in his arms.

" So, you found a survivor?" Mara teased. Pretty short for a Sith."

Luke sighed. Mara sensed something was troubling him. " Well, what is it farmboy?"

" This is not an ordinary child, Mara."

" How so?"

Luke bit his lip as he tried to think of the right words. " It's a little bit complicated..."

" Let's just cover the basics, then. I assume that you found him in the wreckage of the old Sith Temple="

" ...In an egg-shaped pod. There was a message along with it." He frowned slightly. " Well, you see, this little one is a clone."

"...clone of who?"

" Your not going to like this, Mara, but he really is just an innocent..."

" Clone of who, Luke?"

The jedi master sighed and said " P-Palpatine." He hope his tone was calmer than it sounded to him.

There was a long moment of silence. The holo-Mara just stared at the baby, then Luke, then the baby once more.

" Luke, if your joking around, I swear I'm going to-"

" No joke. According to the message, the Sith were making clones of other Sith as well." He paused. " But he is his own person. Not an empty shell waiting to be filled. He has his own soul separate from Sidious, Mara. I've felt it."

There was silence. Finally, she spoke again.

" I believe you, farmboy. But I have to see for myself."

" Of course. I plan on getting away from here as quickly as possible. He told me he's frightened of this place, and, unfortunately, the troopers also heard of his ...origins." He wished he had waited to let the boy open the pod, but now it was too late. Somehow they would have to keep this a secret." They didn't react with much enthusiasm."

" I can imagine. " She continued. " Meet me back home, soon. Today, preferably. "

" As you wish." He replied with a smile. She returned the smile and the transmission ended. The baby looked up at Luke curiously.

" We're going to get off this Force-forsaken rock real soon, little one, don't you worry."

The child smiled and began to nod off into sleep once more.


End file.
